Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

I had just purchased a car and wanted to get the check engine light off to get it registered. I took the car to Break Specialists plus car care #109, 1915 A. South Bell Blvd, Cedar Park, TX 78613 located directly right in front of Cottmans. July 06, 2010 I ran a diagnostic test that results in the following codes P0171B, P0174B, P0741B, and P1860B. They then referred me to Cottmans which they associate with all the time since they are in the same showing center. July 16, 2010 I took my car to Cottman's transmission, told them my problem that all I needed was to have the check engine light off to register my car. They said they needed to pull the transmission in order to check it out thoroughly at the cast of $695, and I ok'd this work to be done. Never giving me a written estimate of what work was to be done for $695. In the mean time I called other shops to estimate what it would cost to rebuild the for the make and model of my car. The quote I received from other shops were from $1,400 to $2,000 for a complete rebuild transmission. When I called back to Cottmans to see what was wrong when they tour down the transmission they old me the torque converter was the problem and some seals in the transmission. They stated if this was repaired everything would be okay with and that would take care of the check engine light. So I asked them how much it would be for them to rebuild the transmission and they told me $2,888. Knowing that I could have the work done somewhere else for $1,400 to $2,000 I informed transmissions that I was going to remove my car and have to work done elsewhere. They immediately took of my wheels so I couldn't and told me they couldn't release my car do to company policy without putting the transmission back into the car for an additional $695. I was never informed about this when the work was preformed so they held my car hostage leaving me with no other choice but to let them do the work. Having me to believe that the $695 was to remove, check, and install. The quote were never furnished and they wouldn't release my car even if I paid for them just to remove the transmission. They then told me the total of $3,000 dollars, this would take care of all repairs for the transmission (which are all the odb codes presented) or having me to believe they would be all taken care of, and have the check engine light off no mater what. Since they held my car hostage I chose to have the work done there and they verbally guaranteed that all this would be taken care of. I ok'd the work but told them that I wanted all the old parts from the transmission, all labor costs and all parts and their prices. They started the work on July 18, 2010.

They called and said the car was ready so I went to pick it up on July 26, 2010. When I got there the guy was still test driving the vehicle, he returned and parked the car out side the office, and I payed the bill. Then when I went to drive the car off I noticed that the rear tire was flat and I asked the mechanic to put air in the tire and got ready to drive the car away. I was reading the bill I was looking at the cost and signatures but what had really caught my eye was the great number of miles that were put on the car. The car had been parked do to the flat tire my car had when receiving the car from cottman's. Then Intake odometer should have read 215214 but read 215204 the same as when it left break specialists. The out take on the odometer was 215570 an additional 356 miles put on my car while in their possession. The receptionist and called me and told me she looking good sporting my car but I only thought she was joking. So they were misusing m property to go who knows where they will not let me know. They had no explanation but stated she could've misread the mileage. this would have never happened if proper procedure was followed and paper quotes where made with a computer analysis.

So after questioning her about the mileage I then heard a horrible grinding in my right passenger tire as I was pulling out. The mechanic came out and tried to pretend he couldn't hear anything when it was very loud. He then wanted me to come back two days later so he could take a look at the tire.I drove home in the car with the noise. I wanted another opinion on why the noise was very loud coming from the tire and too the car to Firestone to have a mechanic check it out. He then stated that all the lug nuts on the front right passenger tire were cross threaded and not even tight, (barely on the tip) which caused the tire to wobble and make this noise. I then called cottmans and told them and they told me to brig the car in and they wold fix the problem. I don't know what they did but when I got the car back the car didn't make that noise anymore but now the tire shakes and wobbles. The people at cottmans didn't explain how they fixed the tire. I then check the lug nuts and found out that they had replaced the lug nuts that were stripped with faulty workmanship and installed regular lug nuts even though I had locking nuts on the car so the rims couldn't be stolen. I told them about this and they told me that they would ship them to my address but then went back on their work and called me wanting me to go into the shop so they can put them on. I don't want them touching my car because they cant do a single job professionally without retuning my car without yet another problem. So I still haven't went back to repair this as of yet. Then after receiving my car now they tell me that the check engine light has to do with my catalytic converter. The never told me there was a problem with it until now, very suspicious. They will not take care of the light problem when this was the main reason for taking my car in.

Also when I got the car back the engine now shakes horribly. I had the other mechanic from Firestone check it out again an he said that the motor mount bolts were loose ad the transmission wasn't installed correctly. I have no idea how these got loose but Cotman's also said they would check it out. They then told me after receiving my car as well that there is now a problem with my struts. This doesn't make sense my car shakes when starting it and while driving it over the speed limit of 40.

I also have concerns about my receipt because in the list of charges it seems that all they did was make up prices to equal the sum of $3,000 dollars. The might have just took the price of parts and subtracted from $3,000 to gt the labor? There are no State taxes on this invoice which is very strange. The only time I was able to tell was when receiving my print out a week after receiving my car the second time plus an additional 30 miles. There was also only one charge of $695 to remove, check, and install. So why when I told them I was going to take my car elsewhere and didn't want them to work on my car they then told me it would cost an additional $695. I was lead to believe I was going to have to pay $1,400 for remove, check, and install when it was included the hold time, according to the print out.

All in all I felt I was treated unfair by Cottman's transmissions, first because they held my car hostage and wouldn't allow me to have the work done at another shop for a cheaper price where i would've most likely have gotten better service. Second, I don't know where my car was while in the possession of Cottman's Transmission because the added miles that can't be explained. And third, when I ok'd the work to be done at Cottmans and discussed that for this amount of money all the problems with the odb codes would be settled and thy stated that all would be taken care of. I was assured by them that all the codes problems would be taken care of with the repairs that were made. This is far from what I received. The check engine light still is on and now the car runs worse then when I brought it in for repairs. The car has no power when i accelerate the car takes off very slowly with no more kick in the transmission. Now the catalytic converter (the codes don't state)and the air bag light is on and was never on before. It is quite suspicious that those two items now show up after the repairs at Cottman's Transmission. I felt that I have paid good money and that Cottman's transmission had misrepresented what repairs they were actually going to preform at that price. I feel that Cottman's at the very lease should be held to their word and do the necessary repairs, which I have already paid for, to have all the check engine lights and obd codes taken care of. This is what was stated to me and promised for the price of $3,000.00.

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.

Corporate Advocacy Program: The best way to manage and repair your business reputation. Hiding negative complaints is only a Band-Aid. Consumers want to see how businesses take care of business. All businesses will get complaints. How those businesses take care of those complaints is what separates good businesses from bad businesses.